Chapter 2: Before I Go

Dante glanced at his phone for the hundredth time, tempted to call Lulu before he officially went undercover. His finger hovered above her speed dial number a second before his phone was snatched from his grasp.

"I know that look. No phone calls," Ronnie said, pocketing the phone. "You were gonna call Lulu, weren't you?" Ronnie and Dante had been friends for so long that they were well aware of the other's weaknesses, and always sought to protect one another when possible. "You never messed up like this before, Dante; always the golden cop. What happened man?"

Dante shook his head, returning his attention towards the notes that were scattered across his desk. He needed to memorize certain details pertaining to the case before noon, before he signed up to an orderly at Bellevue Hospital. Dante traced a finger across his copy of the hospital blueprints, preparing for any chance of trouble.

"You've been losing your touch, Dante. Ever since Son—"

"Forget it," Dante said, annoyed. He still followed protocol, protecting to the law by the book. Ronnie knew that, but he also knew that something had changed within Dante since his case against Sonny.

"Fine. You wanna go over your new identity?"

Dante nodded, containing a sigh as Ronnie swiped one of the reports from his desk. Becoming someone else was always the hardest part of undercover work; one slip up and that was the end of it.

"Name?" Ronnie asked, taking the seat across from Dante.

"Angelus Lucas."

"Angelus?" Ronnie asked, flipping through the notes. "What, has your girl been watching Buffy reruns or something?"

Dante gave Ronnie a look that told him to shut up, causing his partner to smirk and glance back at the notes in front of him. "Birth?"

Dante opened his mouth to speak, but his cell phone's blaring ring interrupted him.

"Falconarri," he answered, pulling his cell phone from Ronnie's jacket pocket and flipping it open. A familiar voice filled his ears, and he couldn't help but smile.

"Hey Ma," he said, turning his back on Ronnie as he spoke.

"Hi honey. I wanted to catch you before you left for Bellevue. You were planning on saying goodbye to your mother, weren't you?"

Dante smiled. "Of course. I'll be there in ten minutes."

"Good. I have something for you. I better see you soon, Dante."

Dante's smile widened. He hoped his mom was sending him off with a home cooked meal, imagining it as the perfect reminder of home while he was away.

"Hello. Earth to Dante," Ronnie said, waving his hand in front of his partner's face. "You were thinking about your ma's lasagna, weren't you?"

"Shut up. I've gotta go. I'll be back," Dante said, grapping his jacket and keys. "Cover for me."

"Yeah, yeah," sighed Ronnie, watching his friend leave. "Bring me back some lasagna!"

"Ma?" Dante called out, opening her apartment door with the spare key she left under the mat. A single breath was all it took as his senses kicked into overdrive. The smell of fettuccini led him to the kitchen, where he found his mom leaning over the stove, a spoon in hand.

"There you are, sweetie," she said, knocking the spoon against a pot before setting it down and leaning towards Dante for a kiss.

"Hey Ma," he replied, taking a seat across from the stove on a small island. He reached for a small chunk of cheese before his mother swatted his hand away, taking the contents of the cutting board and throwing it into the pot.

"I hope that's for me," Dante said with a laugh, breathing in the sent of fresh Italian food.

"Of course its for you honey. You didn't think I'd sent you off without some real food, now did you?" Olivia said, rolling her eyes. She checked the pot to make sure the cheese was melting and noodles were cooking before turning back towards her son.

"That's not why I called you over here, though, Dante," she said, seriousness crossing her face. "Lulu's worried sick over you, honey. You haven't even left yet."

"I know, Ma, but there's nothing I can do. This is my job."

"I understand that, sweetheart. And I know she does too. I just think you should…" Olivia bit her lip, searching for the right word. "…Reassure her that you'll come back." She rested one hand on her son's, and the other reached out of sight.

"How—" Dante started, but then he saw what his mother pulled from her apron pocket. She placed a small, black felted box in his palm, and smiled at Dante as he quickly understood.

"Go talk to her. Before you leave."

Knowing Lulu, she probably would have stayed at the apartment the rest of the day, so Dante checked there first. He opened the elevator doors to find Lulu asleep on the couch, the iPod he'd given her playing on the speakers as the voice of Mayday Parade's lead singer filled the room.

So I'll sing a melody

And hope to God she's listening

Sleeping softly while I sing

And I'll be your memories

Your lullaby for all the times

Hoping that my voice could get it right

If luck is on my side tonight

My clumsy tongue will make it right

"I Swear This Time I Mean It," Dante muttered, realizing the irony of the song that was playing. He walked over to Lulu and sat on the edge of the couch, brushing her hair away from her face as he hummed along to the music.

"Lulu," he whispered, hoping not to surprise her.

"Hmm," Lulu mumbled, shifting as she blinked slowly.

"Hey," Dante whispered, leaning down to his her forehead.

"What are you doing here?" she muttered, sitting up.

"Its good to see you too," Dante laughed, kneeling on the floor beside the couch as he pulled out the small box his mother gave him.

That woke Lulu up.